"Nobody Appreciates Anything I Do Around Here!" Feeling Unappreciated?

This morning, I'm cleaning our bathroom. I hate cleaning this bathroom! Don't ask me why, but it takes days to clean this very small room in our 1300 square foot home. Today, I thought I would be efficient so I used the vacuum cleaner to suck up all the hair left behind by my son and myself. There was enough hair left on the floor for a small child.

As I'm sucking up every strand of hair, I started thinking of the old me. This 'ole complainer who often felt unappreciated and would grumble, "Nobody appreciates what I do around here! Nobody cares. My husband will never noticed I wiped down the baseboards. Who would even know that I stooped on my knees to clean the outside of the toilet all the way down to the floor? And with a BAD BACK!!!"

One day, the new me realized something very important.

(I'm sorry if you are grossed out by my insufficient cleaning skills but keep reading. I do NOT want you to miss these two very important words.)

God sees.

That's it! The blog has officially ended. Okay, let's keep going!

God sees how you support your family. God sees you wash those dishes after everyone else runs away with tasks more important than your own. God sees the many sacrifices you make for others often placing yourself on the back burner. God sees you drag yourself out of bed to feed a crying baby. God sees the effort you make every weekend to dress everyone for church and make it safely out the door only to combat the 1,307 problems you encountered from the house to the car. God sees you trying to mend broken relationships. God sees your best effort at work. God sees you working to keep the flame alive between you and your spouse.

God sees. I did not say God saw. God sees.

Hagar once said, "You-Are-The-God-Who-Sees" in Genesis 16:13. Contained within the same verse, she goes on to say, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"

Who was Hagar? Oh, she was a girl. Just kidding!

Hagar was a maidservant who slept with Sarai's husband, Abram, so she could conceive a child which Sarai wanted to take from her. She was hated, envied, and tossed out of camp. Then, something amazing happened. Someone chased after her.

Was it Sarai? No. Was it Abram? No. It was God.

When He sent an Angel of the Lord, who very well could have been Jesus, to speak with her "by a spring of water in the wilderness," Hagar felt hopeless (Gen. 16:7). She was ready to throw in the towel. But when she realized she was speaking with a Man who truly cared about her, she regained strength. She felt valued.

She realized right then and there not to worry about what others thought, because she encountered the God who sees. He knew her worth, because He created her.

My friend, it is the same for you today! Did you know God can see all you do, and He is so very proud of you! He loves you. He created you for a purpose. Keep going. Don't give up!

Challenge: Give God praise and thanks for allowing you the opportunity to ___. Let me give you an example. While washing dishes, I often say, "Lord, thank you for giving me the hands to wash these dishes for my family knowing there are people who are wheelchair bound incapable of washing a dish."

Keep pursuing Christ. He's not finished with you yet!

If you would like to hear more about Hagar's story, check out my latest devotional book Beauty Rises Again: From Brokenness to New Beginnings.